Myc-binding zinc finger proteins, their preparation and their use

ABSTRACT

Novel Myc-binding zinc finger proteins, their preparation and their use are provided.

The present invention relates to Myc binding zinc finger proteins, to their preparation and to their use.

Myc is a protein which specifically binds to DNA. It belongs to the family of helix-loop-helix/leucine zipper (HLH/LZ) transcription factors (Landschulz et al., 1998, Murre et al., 1989). Myc is a central transcription activator which forms a complex with the protein Max (Amati et al., 1993) and, by this molecular mechanism, activates other genes, for example the alpha-prothymosine gene, the ornithine decarboxylase gene and cdc25A.

Schulz et al., 1995, described a mouse protein which contains 13 zinc fingers but whose cellular function is unclear.

Because of its key position in transcription, Myc provides a starting point for understanding cellular, in particular pathophysiological, processes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide further information about the molecular mode of action of Myc, in particular about the gene repression mediated by Myc.

The invention relates to a protein having the amino acid sequence depicted in SEQ ID NO:2. This protein has thirteen zinc finger domains.

It has the following biological properties:

specific binding to Myc,

transactivation of the adenovirus major late (AdML) promoter,

transactivation of the cyclin D1 promoter,

transactivation is inhibited by association with Myc,

in the absence of Myc, the protein is to be found essentially in the cytosol associated with microtubules.

The invention furthermore relates to proteins derived from the structure depicted in SEQ ID NO:2 by substitution, insertion or deletion of one or more amino acids, these proteins still having the essential biological properties of the protein described by SEQ ID NO:2. These proteins are referred to as muteins hereinafter. Essential properties include the specific binding of the muteins to Myc.

The abovementioned properties of the protein described by SEQ ID NO:2 need not all be present in the muteins as long as the specific binding to Myc is. However, the muteins which have all the abovementioned properties are preferred.

The number of amino acids altered by insertion, substitution or deletion by comparison with the protein described by SEQ ID NO:2 may vary from 1 to 100, preferably from 1 to 50, amino acids.

The alterations may be concentrated in a relatively small area of the molecule or else be distributed over the entire molecule.

Preferred alterations are conservative substitutions in which one amino acid is replaced by another amino acid with a similar bulk, charge or hydrophilicity.

Examples of such conservative substitutions are

replacement of Arg by Lys or vice versa,

replacement of Arg by His or vice versa,

replacement of Asp by Glu or vice versa,

replacement of Asn by Gln or vice versa,

replacement of Cys by Met or vice versa,

replacement of Cys by Ser or vice versa,

replacement of Gly by Ala or vice versa,

replacement of Val by Leu or vice versa,

replacement of Val by Ile or vice versa,

replacement of Leu by Ile or vice versa,

replacement of Phe by Tyr or vice versa,

replacement of Phe by Trp or vice versa,

replacement of Ser by Thr or vice versa.

The alterations may also be combined, eg. one or more substitutions with deletions and/or insertions.

The invention further relates to nucleic acid sequences which code for the proteins described above. These nucleic acid sequences are preferably DNA, in particular cDNA, sequences in single-stranded or double-stranded form.

Preferred nucleic acid sequences are those having the sequence depicted in SEQ ID NO:1 and those having a high degree of relationship with this sequence, for example those which code for the same protein as SEQ ID NO:1. Further preferred nucleic acid sequences are those which code for a protein which has 95% or more identity to the protein of sequence SEQ ID NO:2.

The invention further relates to vectors which harbor one of the nucleic acid sequences described above in functional linkage to one or more regulatory elements. Regulatory elements mean nucleic acid fragments which have a controlling effect on transcription or translation, for example promoters, enhancers, polyadenylation sites and ribosome binding sites.

The invention likewise relates to host organisms transformed with vectors of this type. Suitable host organisms are microorganisms, plant or animal cells or living things. Preferred host organisms are eukaryotic cells and living things. The term host organism also includes, for example, transgenic animals and plants.

The proteins according to the invention are preferably prepared with the aid of genetic engineering processes. A host organism which harbors the genetic information for the proteins according to the invention is cultivated under conditions which permit expression of the protein. These conditions, such as temperature, nutrient medium, cell density, substantially depend on the choice of the host organism. However, the skilled worker is aware of such conditions for individual host organisms.

The expressed proteins are subsequently, where appropriate after disruption of the host organism, separated from the host organism and isolated in pure form by known methods of protein purification, such as precipitation, chromatography, electrophoresis. The invention further relates to the use of the proteins as antigen to produce antibodies, and to the antibodies obtained in this way. Polyclonal antisera or else monoclonal antibodies can be prepared by processes known to the skilled worker.

The proteins according to the invention are also suitable as test systems for finding potential selective transcription-modulating substances. This can be tested particularly well by utilizing the ability of the proteins to form a protein complex with Myc. The invention therefore further relates to a method for identifying specific transcription-modulating substances which comprises the following steps:

(a) Incubating the protein as claimed in claim 1 with the myc gene product under conditions such that a complex between these two proteins is formed,

(b) incubating the two proteins in the presence of one or more substances which are to be tested for specific transcription-modulating activities but under conditions which are otherwise the same as in (a),

(c) determining the difference in the protein complex formation between (b) and (a),

(d) selecting those substances with which the protein complex formation in step (b) is different from that in step (a).

It is possible thereby to find substances which promote complex formation between the novel zinc finger protein and Myc, but also those which suppress it.

The nucleic acid sequences according to the invention are also suitable for gene therapy of diseases in which the transcription mediated by Myc is deranged.

For example, additional gene sequences can be introduced in order, in this way, to increase the cellular concentration of the zinc finger proteins. However, it may also be desirable to decrease the concentration of the zinc finger proteins. In this case, an antisense-based gene therapy is suitable, in which case a nucleic acid or nucleic acid derivative complementary to the zinc finger protein gene is administered, and thus expression of the zinc finger protein gene is reduced.

Further development of the invention is described in the following examples.

EXAMPLE 1

Isolation of the DNA Having the Structure Described by SEQ ID NO:1

Previous work had shown that the integrity of the helix-loop-helix domain of Myc was critical for gene repression by Myc in stable cell lines (Philipp et al., 1994). In order to identify novel proteins which interact with the C terminus of Myc, a DNA fragment which codes for the basic region and the HLH/LZ domain (amino acids 355-439 of human Myc) was fused in reading frame to the DNA-binding domain of GAL4 (amino acid 1-147) and used as bait in a two-hybrid screen (Fields and Song, 1989).

2×10⁵ independent transformants from a HeLa cDNA library, with the GAL4 activation domain as marker, were screened. One clone with β-galactosidase activity was characterized further. No interaction was found between the protein encoded by this clone and the DNA binding domain of GAL4 alone or of a GAL4-BCY-1 chimera which was used as negative control.

The interaction with Myc was abolished by deletion of the HLH domain in Myc (370-412) but not by insertion of the four amino acids between the HLH domain and the leucine zipper (In 412) or by deletion of the complete leucine zipper (412-434). A specific interaction was also detected with N-Myc but not with MAX or USF, two HLH proteins which are closely related by Myc.

Full-length cDNA molecules were isolated by a 5'-RACE protocol and were sequenced (SEQ ID NO:1). They encode a protein having 803 amino acids (SEQ ID NO:2) with a theoretical molecular weight of 87.970 dalton. The protein was called Miz-1 for Myc-interacting zinc finger protein 1.

Sequencing revealed that the isolated clone coded for a zinc finger protein with 13 zinc fingers, 12 of them clustered directly in the C-terminal half of the protein.

EXAMPLE 2

Preparation of Muteins

It is possible, starting from the nucleic acid sequence depicted in SEQ ID NO:1, to prepare by genetic engineering methods familiar to the skilled worker nucleic acids which code for altered proteins (muteins). The muteins themselves are expediently prepared by expressing a nucleic acid in a suitable host organism.

EXAMPLE 3

Asosciation of the Protein of SEQ ID NO:2 with Myc.

The C terminus of the protein of SEQ ID NO:2 (amino acid 269-803) was fused to glutathione transferase (GST) (Smith and Johnson, 1988), and the GST-Miz-1 fusion protein was purified and incubated with in vitro synthesized, radiolabeled Myc protein. Myc associates specifically with GST-Miz-1 but not with GST. A mutant of Myc which lacks the HLH domain was unable to associate with GST-Miz-1. Radiolabeled Max interacts neither with GST-Miz-1 nor with GST. However, Max is able with the aid of Myc to bind to GST-Miz-1-beads in vitro, which indicates that Miz-1 and Max interact with different areas of the HLH domain of Myc.

LIST OF REFERENCES

Amati, B., Brooks, M. W., Levy, N., Littlewood, T. D., Evan, G. I., and Land, H. (1993). Oncogenic activity of the c-Myc protein requires dimerization with Max. Cell 72, 233-245.

Fields, S., and Song, O. (1989). A novel genetic system to detect protein-protein interactions. Nature 340, 245-246.

Landschulz, W. H., Johnson, P. F., and McKnight, S. L. (1988). The leucine zipper: a hypothetical structure common to a new class of DNA binding proteins. Science 240, 1759-1764.

Murre, C., SchonleberMcCaw, P., and Baltimore, D. (1989). A new DNA binding and dimerization motif in immunoglobulin enhancer binding, daughterless, MyoD, and Myc proteins. Cell 56, 777-783.

Philipp, A., Schneider, A., Vasrik, I., Finke, K., Xiong, Y., Beach, D., Alitalo, K., and Eilers, M. (1994). Repression of Cyclin D1: a Novel Function of MYC. Mol. Cell. Biol. 14, 4032-4043.

Schulz, T. C., Hopwood, B., Rathjen, P. D., and Wells, J. R. (1995). An unusual arrangement of 13 zinc fingers in the vertebrate gene z13. Biochem. J. 311, 219-224.

Smith, D. B., and Johnson, K. S. (1988). Single-step purification of polypeptides expressed in Escherichia coli as fusions with glutathione S-transferase. Gene 67, 31-40.

    __________________________________________________________________________     #             SEQUENCE LISTING                                                   - -  - - (1) GENERAL INFORMATION:                                              - -    (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 2                                            - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 1:                                     - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 2680 base - #pairs                                                 (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA to mRNA                                       - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO                                                    - -     (ix) FEATURE:                                                                   (A) NAME/KEY: 5'UTR                                                            (B) LOCATION: 1..159                                                  - -     (ix) FEATURE:                                                                   (A) NAME/KEY: CDS                                                              (B) LOCATION: 160..2571                                               - -     (ix) FEATURE:                                                                   (A) NAME/KEY: CDS                                                              (B) LOCATION: 2572..2680                                              - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: - #1:                            - - GGAGTGCCGT CCCCGGCCTT CTCGCGGCCG TGATGCACCT CCCTCTGCGG TG -              #GGGTCCGG     60                                                                  - - GACATGGCAG GTAATGAGCC GGACGAGGGG AGCCAAGCTG GAGTTTACAC AG -             #GCAAACTG    120                                                                  - - TCAGAAAAGA GTAGCCTGGG CTGTCTGGAA ATCTGAGCC ATG GAC TTT - # CCC CAG            174                                                                                         - #                  - #       Met Asp Phe Pro Gln                             - #                  - #         1         - #      5         - - CAC AGC CAG CAT GTC TTG GAA CAG CTG AAC CA - #G CAG CGG CAG CTG GGG           222                                                                        His Ser Gln His Val Leu Glu Gln Leu Asn Gl - #n Gln Arg Gln Leu Gly                             10 - #                 15 - #                 20               - - CTT CTC TGT GAC TGC ACC TTT GTG GTG GAC GG - #T GTT CAC TTT AAG GCT           270                                                                        Leu Leu Cys Asp Cys Thr Phe Val Val Asp Gl - #y Val His Phe Lys Ala                         25     - #             30     - #             35                   - - CAT AAA GCA GTG CTG GCG GCC TGC AGC GAG TA - #C TTC AAG ATG CTC TTC           318                                                                        His Lys Ala Val Leu Ala Ala Cys Ser Glu Ty - #r Phe Lys Met Leu Phe                     40         - #         45         - #         50                       - - GTG GAC CAG AAG GAC GTG GTG CAC CTG GAC AT - #C AGT AAC GCG GCA GGC           366                                                                        Val Asp Gln Lys Asp Val Val His Leu Asp Il - #e Ser Asn Ala Ala Gly                 55             - #     60             - #     65                           - - CTG GGG CAG ATG CTG GAG TTT ATG TAC ACG GC - #C AAG CTG AGC CTG AGC           414                                                                        Leu Gly Gln Met Leu Glu Phe Met Tyr Thr Al - #a Lys Leu Ser Leu Ser             70                 - # 75                 - # 80                 - # 85        - - CCT GAG AAC GTG GAT GAT GTG CTG GCC GTG GC - #C ACT TTC CTC CAA ATG           462                                                                        Pro Glu Asn Val Asp Asp Val Leu Ala Val Al - #a Thr Phe Leu Gln Met                             90 - #                 95 - #                100               - - CAG GAC ATC ATC ACG GCC TGC CAT GCC CTC AA - #G TCA CTT GCT GAG CCG           510                                                                        Gln Asp Ile Ile Thr Ala Cys His Ala Leu Ly - #s Ser Leu Ala Glu Pro                        105      - #           110      - #           115                   - - GCT ACC AGC CCT GGG GGA AAT GCG GAG GCC TT - #G GCC ACA GAA GGA GGG           558                                                                        Ala Thr Ser Pro Gly Gly Asn Ala Glu Ala Le - #u Ala Thr Glu Gly Gly                    120          - #       125          - #       130                       - - GAC AAG AGA GCC AAA GAG GAG AAG GTG GCC AC - #C AGC ACG CTG AGC AGG           606                                                                        Asp Lys Arg Ala Lys Glu Glu Lys Val Ala Th - #r Ser Thr Leu Ser Arg                135              - #   140              - #   145                           - - CTG GAG CAG GCA GGA CGC AGC ACA CCC ATA GG - #C CCC AGC AGG GAC CTC           654                                                                        Leu Glu Gln Ala Gly Arg Ser Thr Pro Ile Gl - #y Pro Ser Arg Asp Leu            150                 1 - #55                 1 - #60                 1 -       #65                                                                               - - AAG GAG GAG CGC GGC GGT CAG GCC CAG AGT GC - #G GCC AGC GGT GCA         GAG      702                                                                     Lys Glu Glu Arg Gly Gly Gln Ala Gln Ser Al - #a Ala Ser Gly Ala Glu                           170  - #               175  - #               180               - - CAG ACA GAG AAA GCC GAT GCG CCC CGG GAG CC - #G CCG CCT GTG GAG CTC           750                                                                        Gln Thr Glu Lys Ala Asp Ala Pro Arg Glu Pr - #o Pro Pro Val Glu Leu                        185      - #           190      - #           195                   - - AAG CCA GAC CCC ACG AGT GGC ATG GCT GCC GC - #A GAA GCT GAG GCC GCT           798                                                                        Lys Pro Asp Pro Thr Ser Gly Met Ala Ala Al - #a Glu Ala Glu Ala Ala                    200          - #       205          - #       210                       - - TTG TCC GAG AGC TCG GAG CAA GAA ATG GAG GT - #G GAG CCC GCC CGG AAA           846                                                                        Leu Ser Glu Ser Ser Glu Gln Glu Met Glu Va - #l Glu Pro Ala Arg Lys                215              - #   220              - #   225                           - - GGG GAA GAG GAG CAA AAG GAG CAA GAG GAG CA - #A GAG GAG GAG GGC GCA           894                                                                        Gly Glu Glu Glu Gln Lys Glu Gln Glu Glu Gl - #n Glu Glu Glu Gly Ala            230                 2 - #35                 2 - #40                 2 -       #45                                                                               - - GGG CCA GCT GAG GTC AAG GAG GAG GGT TCC CA - #G CTG GAG AAC GGA         GAG      942                                                                     Gly Pro Ala Glu Val Lys Glu Glu Gly Ser Gl - #n Leu Glu Asn Gly Glu                           250  - #               255  - #               260               - - GCC CCC GAG GAG AAC GAG AAT GAG GAG TCA GC - #G GGC ACA GAC TCG GGG           990                                                                        Ala Pro Glu Glu Asn Glu Asn Glu Glu Ser Al - #a Gly Thr Asp Ser Gly                        265      - #           270      - #           275                   - - CAG GAG CTC GGC TCC GAG GCC CGG GGC CTG CG - #C TCA GGC ACC TAC GGC          1038                                                                        Gln Glu Leu Gly Ser Glu Ala Arg Gly Leu Ar - #g Ser Gly Thr Tyr Gly                    280          - #       285          - #       290                       - - GAC CGC ACG GAG TCC AAG GCC TAC GGC TCC GT - #C ATC CAC AAG TGC GAG          1086                                                                        Asp Arg Thr Glu Ser Lys Ala Tyr Gly Ser Va - #l Ile His Lys Cys Glu                295              - #   300              - #   305                           - - GAC TGT GGG AAG GAG TTC ACG CAC ACG GGG AA - #C TTC AAG CGG CAC ATC          1134                                                                        Asp Cys Gly Lys Glu Phe Thr His Thr Gly As - #n Phe Lys Arg His Ile            310                 3 - #15                 3 - #20                 3 -       #25                                                                               - - CGC ATC CAC ACG GGG GAG AAG CCC TTC TCG TG - #C CGG GAG TGC AGC         AAG     1182                                                                     Arg Ile His Thr Gly Glu Lys Pro Phe Ser Cy - #s Arg Glu Cys Ser Lys                           330  - #               335  - #               340               - - GCC TTT TCC GAC CCG GCC GCG TGC AAG GCC CA - #T GAG AAG ACG CAC AGC          1230                                                                        Ala Phe Ser Asp Pro Ala Ala Cys Lys Ala Hi - #s Glu Lys Thr His Ser                        345      - #           350      - #           355                   - - CCT CTG AAG CCC TAC GGC TGC GAG GAG TGC GG - #G AAG AGC TAC CGC CTC          1278                                                                        Pro Leu Lys Pro Tyr Gly Cys Glu Glu Cys Gl - #y Lys Ser Tyr Arg Leu                    360          - #       365          - #       370                       - - ATC AGC CTG CTG AAC CTG CAC AAG AAG CGG CA - #C TCG GGC GAG GCG CGC          1326                                                                        Ile Ser Leu Leu Asn Leu His Lys Lys Arg Hi - #s Ser Gly Glu Ala Arg                375              - #   380              - #   385                           - - TAC CGC TGC GAG GAC TGC GGC AAG CTC TTC AC - #C ACC TCG GGC AAC CTC          1374                                                                        Tyr Arg Cys Glu Asp Cys Gly Lys Leu Phe Th - #r Thr Ser Gly Asn Leu            390                 3 - #95                 4 - #00                 4 -       #05                                                                               - - AAG CGC CAC CAG CTG GTG CAC AGC GGC GAG AA - #G CCC TAC CAG TGC         GAC     1422                                                                     Lys Arg His Gln Leu Val His Ser Gly Glu Ly - #s Pro Tyr Gln Cys Asp                           410  - #               415  - #               420               - - TAC TGC GGC CGC TCC TTC TCC GAC CCC ACT TC - #C AAG ATG CGC CAC CTG          1470                                                                        Tyr Cys Gly Arg Ser Phe Ser Asp Pro Thr Se - #r Lys Met Arg His Leu                        425      - #           430      - #           435                   - - GAG ACC CAC GAC ACG GAC AAG GAG CAC AAG TG - #C CCA CAC TGC GAC AAG          1518                                                                        Glu Thr His Asp Thr Asp Lys Glu His Lys Cy - #s Pro His Cys Asp Lys                    440          - #       445          - #       450                       - - AAG TTC AAC CAG GTA GGG AAC CTG AAG GCC CA - #C CTG AAG ATC CAC ATC          1566                                                                        Lys Phe Asn Gln Val Gly Asn Leu Lys Ala Hi - #s Leu Lys Ile His Ile                455              - #   460              - #   465                           - - GCT GAC GGG CCC CTC AAG TGC CGA GAG TGT GG - #G AAG CAG TTC ACC ACC          1614                                                                        Ala Asp Gly Pro Leu Lys Cys Arg Glu Cys Gl - #y Lys Gln Phe Thr Thr            470                 4 - #75                 4 - #80                 4 -       #85                                                                               - - TCA GGG AAC CTG AAG CGG CAA CTT CGG ATC CA - #C AGC GGG GAG AAG         CCC     1662                                                                     Ser Gly Asn Leu Lys Arg Gln Leu Arg Ile Hi - #s Ser Gly Glu Lys Pro                           490  - #               495  - #               500               - - TAC GTG TGC ATC CAC TGC CAG CGA CAG TTT GC - #A GAC CCC GGC GCT CTG          1710                                                                        Tyr Val Cys Ile His Cys Gln Arg Gln Phe Al - #a Asp Pro Gly Ala Leu                        505      - #           510      - #           515                   - - CAG CGG CAC GTC CGC ATT CAC ACA GGT GAG AA - #G CCA TGC CAG TGT GTG          1758                                                                        Gln Arg His Val Arg Ile His Thr Gly Glu Ly - #s Pro Cys Gln Cys Val                    520          - #       525          - #       530                       - - ATG TGC GGT AAG GCC TTC ACC CAG GCC AGC TC - #C CTC ATC GCC CAC GTG          1806                                                                        Met Cys Gly Lys Ala Phe Thr Gln Ala Ser Se - #r Leu Ile Ala His Val                535              - #   540              - #   545                           - - CGC CAG CAC ACC GGG GAG AAG CCC TAC GTC TG - #C GAG CGC TGC GGC AAG          1854                                                                        Arg Gln His Thr Gly Glu Lys Pro Tyr Val Cy - #s Glu Arg Cys Gly Lys            550                 5 - #55                 5 - #60                 5 -       #65                                                                               - - AGA TTC GTC CAG TCC AGC CAG TTG GCC AAT CA - #T ATT CGC CAC CAC         GAC     1902                                                                     Arg Phe Val Gln Ser Ser Gln Leu Ala Asn Hi - #s Ile Arg His His Asp                           570  - #               575  - #               580               - - AAC ATC CGC CCA CAC AAG TGC AGC GTG TGC AG - #C AAG GCC TTC GTG AAC          1950                                                                        Asn Ile Arg Pro His Lys Cys Ser Val Cys Se - #r Lys Ala Phe Val Asn                        585      - #           590      - #           595                   - - GTG GGG GAC CTG TCC AAG CAC ATC ATC ATT CA - #C ACT GGA GAG AAG CCT          1998                                                                        Val Gly Asp Leu Ser Lys His Ile Ile Ile Hi - #s Thr Gly Glu Lys Pro                    600          - #       605          - #       610                       - - TAC CTG TGT GAT AAG TGT GGG CGT GGC TTC AA - #C CGG GTA GAC AAC CTG          2046                                                                        Tyr Leu Cys Asp Lys Cys Gly Arg Gly Phe As - #n Arg Val Asp Asn Leu                615              - #   620              - #   625                           - - CGC TCC CAC GTG AAG ACC GTG CAC CAG GGC AA - #G GCA GGC ATC AAG ATC          2094                                                                        Arg Ser His Val Lys Thr Val His Gln Gly Ly - #s Ala Gly Ile Lys Ile            630                 6 - #35                 6 - #40                 6 -       #45                                                                               - - CTG GAG CCC GAG GAG GGC AGT GAG GTC AGC GT - #G GTC ACT GTG GAT         GAC     2142                                                                     Leu Glu Pro Glu Glu Gly Ser Glu Val Ser Va - #l Val Thr Val Asp Asp                           650  - #               655  - #               660               - - ATG GTC ACG CTG GCT ACC GAG GCA CTG GCA GC - #G ACA GCC GTC ACT CAG          2190                                                                        Met Val Thr Leu Ala Thr Glu Ala Leu Ala Al - #a Thr Ala Val Thr Gln                        665      - #           670      - #           675                   - - CTC ACA GTG GTG CCG GTG GGA GCT GCA GTG AC - #A GCC GAT GAG ACG GAA          2238                                                                        Leu Thr Val Val Pro Val Gly Ala Ala Val Th - #r Ala Asp Glu Thr Glu                    680          - #       685          - #       690                       - - GTC CTG AAG GCC GAG ATC AGC AAA GCT GTG AA - #G CAA GTG CAG GAA GAA          2286                                                                        Val Leu Lys Ala Glu Ile Ser Lys Ala Val Ly - #s Gln Val Gln Glu Glu                695              - #   700              - #   705                           - - GAC CCC AAC ACT CAC ATC CTC TAC GCC TGT GA - #C TCC TGT GGG GAC AAG          2334                                                                        Asp Pro Asn Thr His Ile Leu Tyr Ala Cys As - #p Ser Cys Gly Asp Lys            710                 7 - #15                 7 - #20                 7 -       #25                                                                               - - TTT CTG GAT GCC AAC AGC CTG GCT CAG CAT GT - #G CGA ATC CAC ACA         GCC     2382                                                                     Phe Leu Asp Ala Asn Ser Leu Ala Gln His Va - #l Arg Ile His Thr Ala                           730  - #               735  - #               740               - - CAG GCA CTG GTC ATG TTC CAG ACA GAC GCG GA - #C TTC TAT CAG CAG TAT          2430                                                                        Gln Ala Leu Val Met Phe Gln Thr Asp Ala As - #p Phe Tyr Gln Gln Tyr                        745      - #           750      - #           755                   - - GGG CCA GGT GGC ACG TGG CCT GCC GGG CAG GT - #G CTG CAG GCT GGG GAG          2478                                                                        Gly Pro Gly Gly Thr Trp Pro Ala Gly Gln Va - #l Leu Gln Ala Gly Glu                    760          - #       765          - #       770                       - - CTG GTC TTC CGC CCT CGC GAC GGG GCT GAG GG - #C CAG CCC GCA CTG GCA          2526                                                                        Leu Val Phe Arg Pro Arg Asp Gly Ala Glu Gl - #y Gln Pro Ala Leu Ala                775              - #   780              - #   785                           - - GAG ACC TCC CCT ACA CCT CCT GAA TGT CCC CC - #G CCT GCC GAG              TGAGCTGGCG  2578                                                                 Glu Thr Ser Pro Thr Pro Pro Glu Cys Pro Pr - #o Pro Ala Glu                    790                 7 - #95                 8 - #00                             - - GCCCTTCTGA CTGTTTATTT AAGGATGGAT GGCACCCTGG AACCGGGAAG GG -             #TGGCCTGT   2638                                                                  - - TCCCTAGAGA GAATAAATTG GATTATTTTC TAAAAAAAAA AA    - #                       - #2680                                                                      - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 2:                                     - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 803 amino - #acids                                                 (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: - #2:                            - - Met Asp Phe Pro Gln His Ser Gln His Val Le - #u Glu Gln Leu Asn Gln         1               5 - #                 10 - #                 15               - - Gln Arg Gln Leu Gly Leu Leu Cys Asp Cys Th - #r Phe Val Val Asp Gly                    20     - #             25     - #             30                   - - Val His Phe Lys Ala His Lys Ala Val Leu Al - #a Ala Cys Ser Glu Tyr                35         - #         40         - #         45                       - - Phe Lys Met Leu Phe Val Asp Gln Lys Asp Va - #l Val His Leu Asp Ile            50             - #     55             - #     60                           - - Ser Asn Ala Ala Gly Leu Gly Gln Met Leu Gl - #u Phe Met Tyr Thr Ala        65                 - # 70                 - # 75                 - # 80        - - Lys Leu Ser Leu Ser Pro Glu Asn Val Asp As - #p Val Leu Ala Val Ala                        85 - #                 90 - #                 95               - - Thr Phe Leu Gln Met Gln Asp Ile Ile Thr Al - #a Cys His Ala Leu Lys                   100      - #           105      - #           110                   - - Ser Leu Ala Glu Pro Ala Thr Ser Pro Gly Gl - #y Asn Ala Glu Ala Leu               115          - #       120          - #       125                       - - Ala Thr Glu Gly Gly Asp Lys Arg Ala Lys Gl - #u Glu Lys Val Ala Thr           130              - #   135              - #   140                           - - Ser Thr Leu Ser Arg Leu Glu Gln Ala Gly Ar - #g Ser Thr Pro Ile Gly       145                 1 - #50                 1 - #55                 1 -       #60                                                                               - - Pro Ser Arg Asp Leu Lys Glu Glu Arg Gly Gl - #y Gln Ala Gln Ser         Ala                                                                                              165  - #               170  - #               175              - - Ala Ser Gly Ala Glu Gln Thr Glu Lys Ala As - #p Ala Pro Arg Glu Pro                   180      - #           185      - #           190                   - - Pro Pro Val Glu Leu Lys Pro Asp Pro Thr Se - #r Gly Met Ala Ala Ala               195          - #       200          - #       205                       - - Glu Ala Glu Ala Ala Leu Ser Glu Ser Ser Gl - #u Gln Glu Met Glu Val           210              - #   215              - #   220                           - - Glu Pro Ala Arg Lys Gly Glu Glu Glu Gln Ly - #s Glu Gln Glu Glu Gln       225                 2 - #30                 2 - #35                 2 -       #40                                                                               - - Glu Glu Glu Gly Ala Gly Pro Ala Glu Val Ly - #s Glu Glu Gly Ser         Gln                                                                                              245  - #               250  - #               255              - - Leu Glu Asn Gly Glu Ala Pro Glu Glu Asn Gl - #u Asn Glu Glu Ser Ala                   260      - #           265      - #           270                   - - Gly Thr Asp Ser Gly Gln Glu Leu Gly Ser Gl - #u Ala Arg Gly Leu Arg               275          - #       280          - #       285                       - - Ser Gly Thr Tyr Gly Asp Arg Thr Glu Ser Ly - #s Ala Tyr Gly Ser Val           290              - #   295              - #   300                           - - Ile His Lys Cys Glu Asp Cys Gly Lys Glu Ph - #e Thr His Thr Gly Asn       305                 3 - #10                 3 - #15                 3 -       #20                                                                               - - Phe Lys Arg His Ile Arg Ile His Thr Gly Gl - #u Lys Pro Phe Ser         Cys                                                                                              325  - #               330  - #               335              - - Arg Glu Cys Ser Lys Ala Phe Ser Asp Pro Al - #a Ala Cys Lys Ala His                   340      - #           345      - #           350                   - - Glu Lys Thr His Ser Pro Leu Lys Pro Tyr Gl - #y Cys Glu Glu Cys Gly               355          - #       360          - #       365                       - - Lys Ser Tyr Arg Leu Ile Ser Leu Leu Asn Le - #u His Lys Lys Arg His           370              - #   375              - #   380                           - - Ser Gly Glu Ala Arg Tyr Arg Cys Glu Asp Cy - #s Gly Lys Leu Phe Thr       385                 3 - #90                 3 - #95                 4 -       #00                                                                               - - Thr Ser Gly Asn Leu Lys Arg His Gln Leu Va - #l His Ser Gly Glu         Lys                                                                                              405  - #               410  - #               415              - - Pro Tyr Gln Cys Asp Tyr Cys Gly Arg Ser Ph - #e Ser Asp Pro Thr Ser                   420      - #           425      - #           430                   - - Lys Met Arg His Leu Glu Thr His Asp Thr As - #p Lys Glu His Lys Cys               435          - #       440          - #       445                       - - Pro His Cys Asp Lys Lys Phe Asn Gln Val Gl - #y Asn Leu Lys Ala His           450              - #   455              - #   460                           - - Leu Lys Ile His Ile Ala Asp Gly Pro Leu Ly - #s Cys Arg Glu Cys Gly       465                 4 - #70                 4 - #75                 4 -       #80                                                                               - - Lys Gln Phe Thr Thr Ser Gly Asn Leu Lys Ar - #g Gln Leu Arg Ile         His                                                                                              485  - #               490  - #               495              - - Ser Gly Glu Lys Pro Tyr Val Cys Ile His Cy - #s Gln Arg Gln Phe Ala                   500      - #           505      - #           510                   - - Asp Pro Gly Ala Leu Gln Arg His Val Arg Il - #e His Thr Gly Glu Lys               515          - #       520          - #       525                       - - Pro Cys Gln Cys Val Met Cys Gly Lys Ala Ph - #e Thr Gln Ala Ser Ser           530              - #   535              - #   540                           - - Leu Ile Ala His Val Arg Gln His Thr Gly Gl - #u Lys Pro Tyr Val Cys       545                 5 - #50                 5 - #55                 5 -       #60                                                                               - - Glu Arg Cys Gly Lys Arg Phe Val Gln Ser Se - #r Gln Leu Ala Asn         His                                                                                              565  - #               570  - #               575              - - Ile Arg His His Asp Asn Ile Arg Pro His Ly - #s Cys Ser Val Cys Ser                   580      - #           585      - #           590                   - - Lys Ala Phe Val Asn Val Gly Asp Leu Ser Ly - #s His Ile Ile Ile His               595          - #       600          - #       605                       - - Thr Gly Glu Lys Pro Tyr Leu Cys Asp Lys Cy - #s Gly Arg Gly Phe Asn           610              - #   615              - #   620                           - - Arg Val Asp Asn Leu Arg Ser His Val Lys Th - #r Val His Gln Gly Lys       625                 6 - #30                 6 - #35                 6 -       #40                                                                               - - Ala Gly Ile Lys Ile Leu Glu Pro Glu Glu Gl - #y Ser Glu Val Ser         Val                                                                                              645  - #               650  - #               655              - - Val Thr Val Asp Asp Met Val Thr Leu Ala Th - #r Glu Ala Leu Ala Ala                   660      - #           665      - #           670                   - - Thr Ala Val Thr Gln Leu Thr Val Val Pro Va - #l Gly Ala Ala Val Thr               675          - #       680          - #       685                       - - Ala Asp Glu Thr Glu Val Leu Lys Ala Glu Il - #e Ser Lys Ala Val Lys           690              - #   695              - #   700                           - - Gln Val Gln Glu Glu Asp Pro Asn Thr His Il - #e Leu Tyr Ala Cys Asp       705                 7 - #10                 7 - #15                 7 -       #20                                                                               - - Ser Cys Gly Asp Lys Phe Leu Asp Ala Asn Se - #r Leu Ala Gln His         Val                                                                                              725  - #               730  - #               735              - - Arg Ile His Thr Ala Gln Ala Leu Val Met Ph - #e Gln Thr Asp Ala Asp                   740      - #           745      - #           750                   - - Phe Tyr Gln Gln Tyr Gly Pro Gly Gly Thr Tr - #p Pro Ala Gly Gln Val               755          - #       760          - #       765                       - - Leu Gln Ala Gly Glu Leu Val Phe Arg Pro Ar - #g Asp Gly Ala Glu Gly           770              - #   775              - #   780                           - - Gln Pro Ala Leu Ala Glu Thr Ser Pro Thr Pr - #o Pro Glu Cys Pro Pro       785                 7 - #90                 7 - #95                 8 -       #00                                                                               - - Pro Ala Glu                                                             __________________________________________________________________________ 

We claim:
 1. An isolated myc-binding protein having the amino acid sequence depicted in SEQ ID NO:2.
 2. The protein defined in claim 1, which is a human protein. 